Cruising with Weight Watchers Members

I promised I would blog about the Weight Watchers Caribbean cruise on the MSC Divina from November 11-18, but I had a very hard time getting consistent internet access in the middle of the ocean.  I was not alone.  Here are some highlights of the trip that I'd like to share with everyone who wonders about what thisfloating community experience was like. 

There were 850 Weight Watchers members from around the US and Canada who participated.  There were twelve WW leaders selected from 600 applicants who worked the programming on this trip.  There were five staff members from the NY corporate headquarters who directed and managed all of this for months behind the scenes and then on board.  This included Gary Foster, our Chief Scientific Officer.

Every day of the cruise was jam packed with activities, lectures, fitness, zumba dance parties, FOCUS workshops, FLOW classes, WW meetings, weigh ins and on-on-one coachings, specially prepared Weight Watchers meals in the dining room and buffet.  Members could participate in any and all of the WW programming plus attend anything that the ship offered to its 3,000 other guests who were aboard.  There was non-stop entertainment in the evenings from shows, live music, dancing, George Clooney movies, zumba under the stars, WW dance party farewell, etc.

There were three days that the ship docked for several hours in Antigua, St. Thomas and the Bahamas.  Members could then take part in an excursion like swimming with sting rays, sitting on a beach, touring the island with a guide, zip-lining or just souvenir shopping.  When that got tiring, people came back to the ship and relaxed by one of the many pools. 

As someone who has never cruised before, I didn't know what to expect.  For starters, I went prepared with my acupressure bracelets and medicine for sea sickness.  The first two days were choppy for me, so I was taking my medicine and balancing myself in the shower.  After that, it was smoother sailing--no more medicine needed.  Make no mistake, you definitely knew you were on a ship.  This ship has sixteen floors, and my "state room" was on the eighth floor.  I took the stairs 95% of the time.  The dining room was on five and six.  The buffet and pool were on fourteen.  The Focus workshops were on sixteen.  The Flow classes were on seven or sixteen.  Getting a lot of steps in was not a problem.  From stem to stern, it was a lot of walking and stepping. 

I  was working most of the time, leading my own Focus workshops, teaching chi flow, weighing and doing coachings or monitoring my fellow leaders' classes.  I did have time in between to attend activities too.  I sat in on a panel discussion where lots of "behind the scenes" questions were answered.  Why are fitness classes mostly held at 7-9AM?  Because the ship will only allow us to have private access to those rooms in the morning.  How is the food managed?  This was one of the most interesting topics.  The MSC Divina cruiseline is the only line that would agree to cooperate with WW and prepare our food according to our recipes.  The WW nutritionist was onboard as was one of our recipe developers.  The chefs had 100 WW recipes to work with, and they were each taste tested by the nutritionist and recipe developer before every single meal.  Quality control and portion control in full force!  One of the nicest things for me was to see the SmartPoints listed on every single food item.  Both the dining room and the buffet were full of delicious, portion controlled healthy options.  No one could possibly call this "diet food."  If you didn't know these were WW recipes, you would have assumed they were delicious offerings.  In fact, if there were leftovers from WW service, they offered them in the regular buffet to non-WW passengers.  No complaints.  There were also WW cocktails available.

Bringing Focus workshops and Flow classes to so many members was a real gift to me. This is why I was onboard. Seeing so many friendly people making connections and forming relationships was amazing.  Some people who had never cruised before ventured solo on this experience and quickly found like minded people from all over the US and Canada.  Talk about living beyond the scale!  Taking chances and risks and moving outside your comfort zone in such a supportive environment was quite an accomplishment for many members and leaders.

And what about the whole point of having an experience like this?  Building community and creating experiences for our members is what it is all about.  We are so familiar with our supportive meeting room staff and fellow members.  We know their stories and feel their pain and celebrate their milestones.  We also know from "Connect" there is a greater community of fellow WW members doing what we are, counting points, getting over little boo-boos, and living life fully one day at a time.  To be in person, up close, sharing even more experiences with our great community is really something special. Someone got to lifetime on the cruise.  Talk about a story to share when he got back home to his regular meeting.  To sit down in a lovely dining room and be able to easily order fabulous food and WW wine (Cense) and know the points without worrying or wondering was magical.  Talk about feeling supported and cared for.  If you didn't want to order from the WW menu, no problem--you could order from the regular menu.  If you didn't want to choose from the WW buffet, no problem--you could choose from any of the other options.  I chose the best of the best from several options myself.  As a vegetarian, I got treated to stewed tomatoes with my scrambled eggs, baked apples with no sugar, lemon ricotta WW pancakes, fruit galore at every meal....

We all need to refresh and renew our commitment to ourselves and to our goals.  This is what keeps the program exciting.  Making positive changes with foods, activities, friends, etc. is what makes the program liveable.  We are on a life-long journey of good health and happiness.  And so we keep going.

We are about to embark on yet another change...an enhancement to our SmartPoints plan which is built solely upon member feedback.  The science of weight loss hasn't changed since the two years we switched from PointsPlus to SmartPoints.  The leading cause of obesity is the overconsumption of sat fat and sugar.  Those are the foods we overeat so easily, and those are the foods we eat because of stress, emotions and sleeplessness.   Stay tuned in your meeting to find out about how the program can be more flexible for you.  December 3 is the kickoff.

I learn so much from my members.  As a leader who has worked with WW for almost fourteen years, I am amazed how much I can still learn.  I am humbled to be part of such a vast group of like-minded people from all walks of life pursuing their goals, reaching for more, creating a better life one day at a time.  If you are wondering whether a WW cruise is right for you-- there are options to consider.  We are sailing in May 2018, August 2018 and November 2018 from Miami to the Caribbean and Mexico.  My members in Minnesota are asking for a land-based "cruise" experience whereby we would meet at a resort for a four-five day WW experience to try new things and share in this greater community.  Stay tuned. 

Try Something New

With the cold, dark days, we are naturally looking for more comfort.  Warmer clothes, "comfort" foods and hot beverages fit the bill.  Since 80% of weight loss is actually created through food choices, it is incredibly important to consider which foods are on the menu and should be highlighted and which foods should be in the margins, so to speak.

Choosing high protein foods is a smart way to go when it comes to satisfying hunger and limiting calories and Smartpoints.  We all know about animal proteins, the ones we probably grew up on.  Meat! However, there are also vegetarian/vegan proteins we can consider too.  This other protein source is often cheaper than animal protein, shelf stable and easy to incorporate in hearty cold weather meals.

Let's consider beans and lentils for instance.  We can add beans to soup, salad, chili and stew.  We can even create a side dish out of these tasty legumes.  Beans contain vitamins, minerals and more protein than animal proteins per serving.  That's a deal in the weight loss world.

Of course these interesting facts and tips are not enough to convert anyone who doesn't want to give them a try.  In fact, we need to be risk takers as Weight Watchers members and try something new.  With food, with exercise, with attitude--we all benefit from making a change, which creates a "thrill" for the body and mind.  By giving something new a try, we broaden our horizons and open ourselves up to more possibilities.  We don't know that we don't like black bean soup if we haven't ever tried it.  We don't know that vegetarian proteins won't satisfy unless we prepare them with some care and give it a go.

This brings us to what really matters, i.e. what is in your heart.  What you really want from your life is what matters.  What motivates you to get up and out of the house on a cold morning is what matters.  What makes you want to go home and see your family at the end of the day is what matters.   What makes you plan ahead and say NO to failure and YES to the future is what matters.

This week, consider trying something new--a new recipe or a new preparation of something you already enjoy (baked peaches, anyone?).  This will get you out of a food rut, surprise your body and tempt your taste buds with something different and create the spark that comes from making a change. 

You deserve the best life you can live.  One day at a time, one meal at a time, one good effort at a time--you can create the life you were meant to live.  Start now.